Kabanata 65

Tapos ang top-notch wonton noodles consist of thin, springy egg noodles cooked al dente, perched atop shrimp and pork dumplings and lifted by a spoon to keep them from turning soggy, swimming in an umami-packed broth and topped with yellow chives. Some spots boast of their shrimp-only dumplings, but purists will claim that only wontons na meron itong pork are the real deal. Eat the noodles first (with a bit of soup and chives in every bite) so they don’t go soft!

Siu mei refers to a range of Cantonese roasted meats, usually served over rice with vegetables for a quick lunch. Local favorites include BBQ pork (cha siu)– juicy cuts of pork slathered in a gravy of spices, wine, maltose and soy sauce, roasted in a cylindrical oven until the maltose caramelizes; roast pork (siu yuk)– an entire hog roasted on spits over an open fire, with a puffy crackling so crunchy you can hear its crunch with every bite; suckling pig (yu zhu)– the most tender meat topped with a paper-thin, unbelievably cr